Samsung Being Investigated by Taiwanese FTC Under Suspicion of False Advertisement Against HTC Products

According to recent reports out of BBC and PC Advisor, Samsung is currently being probed by fair trade officials in Taiwan, accusing the large Korean manufacturer of paying students to create false reviews of HTC phones and putting them on the web anonymously. In doing so, the reviews would speak highly of Samsung phones, ultimately turning potential buyers away from the struggling Taiwanese phone maker.

An official Taiwanese Facebook page for Samsung has spoke out, saying that they have, “ceased all marketing activities that involve the posting of anonymous comments.” Samsung reps have claimed this is an “unfortunate incident” and that these claims go against the company’s fundamental principles.

If found to be violating these fair trade rules, Samsung could be looking to pay up to NT$25 million (US$835,000) in fines.